Shama Dunlow
As a 19-year-old, I never thought I’d get sepsis. I initially thought it was bad asthma since the it started getting colder and with college and work, I thought maybe I was pushing myself too hard. It was Thanksgiving break and I was at work when I first started feeling out of breath. It felt like asthma, I didn’t feel sick. It wasn’t until 4 days later that I started to get a fever and my lungs felt like they were being weighed down. I couldn’t eat and I started to throw up throughout the night. It was the night before finals too so I thought maybe I was just coming down with something since I wasn’t sleeping as much so there would be a portal of entry.
The next day I woke up at 4 am to get ready to take my final and I had a fever of 100.5. I didn’t feel out of breath or congested so I thought maybe I was just starting to get sick since it’s the season. As the day went on at school, I continued to have a fever, I started to get very winded and tired, I would get chills and I felt like my body was working overtime. I did speak to my instructors beforehand about my fever and feeling out of breath but I told them that it’s probably asthma since I’m sick. They said as long as wore my PPE, then there should be no issues with me being at the school. I made it through the day but I was exhausted so I decided to drive myself to urgent care.
I was deeply tired and wanted to just go to bed, thankfully I got to urgent care and immediately my nurse and doctor knew something was wrong. They took my vitals and did a few different kinds of test to check my heart rate and oxygen. She immediately sent me to the ER and I’m so happy I got to there when I did. At first the ER doctors and nurses were going to send me home for a “viral infection” but thankfully for my grandmother, Remah Howell, who has had sepsis 3 times, told my mother to have them scan me and test me for sepsis because of my symptoms. I got a CAT scan and as soon as I got back to the room my oxygen levels started to drop increasingly. They got me admitted into the ICU and I had a wonderful medical team that took care of me.
When I went to bed in the ICU the first night I woke up to the nurses and staff coming into my room and putting me on a bipap, putting meds into me and doing treatments because my heart rate was 159 while I was resting and my oxygen was low. They came in and checked on me routinely and my mom was vocal for me when I didn’t know what to say about the state of myself. I had pneumonia in my left lung that caused severe sepsis without shock. (Sepsis and Pneumonia) It was very startling the first night/day but once I was getting what my body needed I started to ease. I did recover pretty fast in the ICU. I went in on a Monday night and left on a Thursday afternoon. I would say that recovery is still happening even after leaving the ICU. It takes a minute to go up some stairs and I definitely wanted some naps after walking around for a bit.
I am a sepsis survivor and that’s scary and amazing because yes I did get past it but I’m still at risk for sepsis again. I also have weak immunity and my asthma is very reactive to my surroundings so it’s not a great combination. I am getting through it by keeping myself healthy and away from any irritants. I’m beyond thankful for my grandmother, stepdad and mom during that time.
